Badass women who have turned their science into successful business ventures and the funding resources that have supported them and others.

About this Event
VertueLab and Women in Science PDX are coming together again for an annual event to spotlight badass women with badass science startups. The event convenes movers and shakers with different types of businesses, different science backgrounds from low to high tech, and non-traditional funding and support expertise.

We’ll dive into their journeys, learn about their career path, challenges, triumphs, and the resources they couldn’t do without. We want to inspire and empower you to innovate, to brave the entrepreneur journey, and connect you with other women science-badasses, allies and local companies, partners, and mentors who can help launch an idea into the market.

More about the event …
Moderator Lindsey Murphy, of Crazy Aunt Lindsey and founder of The Fab Lab, will lead us through the exploration of how these badass women have taken their innovative ideas, rooted in science and tech, from just an idea to a fully implemented business. They’ll share their journey and insights; including when their business or tech idea originated, their first steps to the formation of their company, early funding pathways, navigating partnership legalities, valuable resources, and reflections on challenges they have overcome.

We will then be joined by another panel of professionals who will elaborate on the funding pathways mentioned by our badass women entrepreneurs, along with a tease into their very specific funding resource.

Then stick around for SPEED NETWORKING. This will be several 3-minute breakouts where you’ll get the chance to connect with panelists and attendees. This session is introvert friendly – short and sweet. Long enough to make a connection, but often not long enough to get into too much depth. But that’s where you can follow up for a virtual coffee or what not. We’ll make sure to collect contact info.

This event is open to EVERYONE, regardless of gender identity.

Please contact tricia.clemans@vertuelab.org with any questions.

Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations, or who have questions about access, please contact us.

More about the panelists…
Our Badass Moderator
Lindsey Murphy, The Fab Lab with Crazy Aunt Lindsey |Creator and host of The Fab Lab With Crazy Aunt Lindsey, YouTube’s popular kids science web series that takes everyday science concepts and turns them into fabulous DIY projects children can do at home with their families. Before breaking out on her own in 2017, she spent more than 15 years in marketing and business development, working at some of the worlds most recognizable institutions: MTV Networks, XBOX/Edelman, Nike Inc., and Wieden+Kennedy.

Entrepreneur Panelists
Rachel Dreilinger, Co-Founder & CEO, NeuraMedica | A Native biomedical engineer (member of the Diné/Navajo Nation) and entrepreneur with 21 years of experience in startups, consulting, lab automation, and medical device development. Rachel loves working with surgeons and clinicians to solve health care challenges and improve the lives of patients while reducing overall healthcare costs. NeuraMedica is an Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) startup focused on the development of a novel, bioabsorbable surgical clip for durotomy closure in spinal surgery. Rachel is interested in supporting more Native representation in STEM fields and the business community.

Paula Hayes, President & CEO, Hue Noir | A product chemist and woman of color inspired by the challenge of finding quality cosmetics that complemented her complexion. Personally aware of the beauty industry’s limited makeup options for her and women like her, Paula embarked on a mission to rethink cosmetic formulas and put multicultural women at the center. Her goal was to create products calibrated to interact well with darker complexions and trusted for their consistent high quality.

Kami Semick, Founder & CEO, Food4All | A technology worker, turned competitive ultra-marathon runner, turned back to technology to bring communities better food. Kami wanted to buy meat locally, but she had to hunt down local ranchers through word-of-mouth to find one willing to sell to her. So she and her husband co-founded Food4All, which enables farmers and buyers in the same area to transact. Buyers have access to farm fresh food, and farmers and ranchers can run a profitable, sustainable business.

Funding Experts
Himalaya Rao-Potlapally, Portland Seed Fund & Black Founders Matter Fund | A Fund Manager and Venture Capital Consultant, Himalaya provides comprehensive and consistent due diligence analysis on prospective investments. At Portland Seed Fund, she sources and screens investment opportunities and is currently fundraising for Black Founders Matter Fund I.

Leon Wolf, VertueLab | Leon assists Oregon tech companies to win grants from an annual bucket of $4B in non-dilutive, federal R&D dollars. He has helped over 100 companies and organizations to prepare SBIR/STTR and other proposals to USDA, NSF, NIH, EPA, and DOE, and has delivered dozens of training sessions on funding.